BODYCOMBAT 45 review

Bit behind the 8 ball here as most countries have released this now but for tradition’s sake I’ll write a fairly brief review below. Once again, as always, this is just my personal opinion, and of course you may completely disagree (do tell me if that’s the case!).

To be honest, after I did this release at the filming (around 4 or 5 months ago) I wasn’t impressed and thought I’d be absolutely ‘bollocking’ it (which I absolutely hate doing)… however, my opinion’s changed. It’s very decent (if you don’t love it at first do give it time – it’s one of those “grow on you releases”). Here’s a short blow by blow review of each track:

Well I’d have to say musically this is probably my favourite warmup ever – great touch having the theme song from Rocky IV as an upper body warm-up, and, great remix too. Lower body works as well, nice driving beat. My only negative comment is that the track itself is possibly too long. I’m sure the Programme Directors could’ve created the chorey such that is wasn’t necessary to have that last third of the lower body track (side kick sets and side kicks part). I mean to we really have to have back kicks in the warmup? Surely the chorey could’ve incorporated side kicks instead and not have the last additional bit. Back kicks only feature again in track 6 which is so slow there’s plenty of time to cue them. But, that’s just a wee niggle – otherwise great track with a couple of surprises. 8.5/10 (would be 9 if just a minute or 2 shorter in length)

2. Back To Innocence – Stephanie Smith

Grown on me quite a lot this one. Wasn’t a fan at all to begin, and although it’s not a track that I feel will go down in time as a classic it’s fairly catchy and a good length; we’ve had some crazy long track 2s (I was made for Loving You/United Vibe) and crazy short (Love Drunk/Beat It). Was one of the first tracks to get mixed out – but will bring it back at some stage (unlike say Energy from BC44 which is unlikely to ever see the light of day again unless specifically requested). 6/10

3. Because The Night (Breeze & Unknown Remix) – Cascada

Despite being used in BC38 this song has gone down fabulously. Highlight of the release for me. Builds perfectly, pulls back just long enough in the shuffle/double jab portion before slamming into the peak at the end of each half. The jab/cross slip/slip combo is awesome – albeit does take a few sets for the members to time correctly – once they do it’s all smiles. Love it – absolutely love it. 9/10

4. Take A Look Around – Badlands Inc

Much like track 2 this track has grown on me. Really important you stay low in the lunges to get a great workout or the heartrate will drop too much. In my classes because the evasive side kicks just come from no where I’ve found they really need to be precued early and clearly (step left kick right works). I did find this one of the tougher tracks to learn as the chorey is uneven – but yes, members like it and will come back in future mixes. 6/10
5. Proud Mary – Dr John Henry

Low point of the release unfortunately. Obviously this is just my opinion but the cheesy song, dreadful cover, and odd repetitive chorey make for a long, long, long 5 minutes. Gets a few smiles first couple of times you teach it as it’s so silly and uncombat like, but once the novelty has worn off it’s just a bore. I understand why this track was in BODYATTACK 70 – being a celebration release and the track having a 70’s feel to it – but why put it in combat in the same quarter?? I mean I can understand when current hits are in multiple programmes, as they are “current” – but a track from 40 years ago? It’s like Lisa O put it in attack and D&R went – “good idea – we’ll do that too!”. Anyway, clearly I’m not a fan; 2/10

6. Russian Roulette (Blunatix Meets B-tastic Remix Edit) – Felix DJ

First time I did this track at the filming I LOVED it. It blew me away – I thought the music was beautiful and Rach presented it so well. However – after doing it a few times yes, whilst lovely it’s just too darn slow. Loads and loads of blocks, and while if you concentrate on staying really low in your stance you’ll get a decent leg burn it’s too long a recovery heartrate wise. Even if you really power into every block and kick it’s still a big drop for the heart. But, nice track – you can pull back and say very little when teaching and almost just use your eyes to cue the movements which is always nice as a contrast… but, yeah, too slow and a bit long for my liking. 6/10

7. Goin’ Out Swingin’ – Turbo

Other low point of the release for me. Hideous cover of a non-hit by Mötley Crüe. I guess if you’re a Crüe fan you may love it (I was in my teens – not so much now) but it’s not a great track. Kinda cringe worthy really. To be fair I wasn’t a fan of Kickstart My Heart either (another Crüe cover in muay thai just 2 releases earlier), but the chorey in this one is better IMO. Sorry, not for me. 3/10

8. See The Light (Styles & Breeze Mix) – Paradise

Great finish. Musically really good – the power hook is an unusual addition and to be honest not sure if it’ll stay around (might go the way of the “sweep”) – however lovely end to the cardio part of the class. Well used track (attack and pump before) but still works here. The tracks 8s in the last few releases have just been simply AWESOME, Overload, Your Shining… superb. D&R if you do read this keep it up. Love it. 8.5/10

9. I Can Transform Ya – Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Swizz Beatz

Two words; Alligator pressup. Yep, I think we all know my opinion on this move. To be fair the adaptation of it in 45 is much better than the way we did it in 44 – but, still would prefer something a little less “clever” (especially in a 57 minute release – not too much time to cue it for newbies to be fair!) 4/10

10. Black Box – Stan Walker

Cooldown is really just down to musical taste so completely personal. Not too much to say here – a little too much kata in this track for me – musically nice finish – just would prefer the last minute or so that we’re doing soft katas to be used for stretches personally. But yeah, nice finish 7/10

Overall as I mentioned this release grew on me over the 2 weeks I did it solidly (teaching it 4 or 5 times per week). It’s not the hardest release in the world, the muay thai (where according to my HRM my heartrate usually peaks at up to 180 beats per minute) isn’t that tough and is pretty short – and track 4 and 6 does see your heartrate drop so cardio wise this isn’t a release that will have you absolutely gasping for air. My only other comment is that it’s over 57 minutes long – if you’re not an instructor that usually follows the “push play and go” philosophy you will now! However, it’s got a couple of outstanding tracks in it and, most importantly the Members have reacted to this release really positively and that’s all that matters!

Because I was overseas for the last filming at the GFX in just over a month I get to see both BODYCOMBAT 46 & BODYCOMBAT 47 at the same time! I’ll keep you posted on those for sure. Again sorry for the delay in writing this guys and as always love to hear your thoughts!

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30 Responses to "BODYCOMBAT 45 review"

Good review, Glen. I’d say this is definitely an overall improvement over the last two releases. It’s the first release in a few that I have enjoyed the blitz fortnight, as opposed to finding reasons to be busy 😉

Honestly, my personal opinion only…i don’t think this release is better than BC44 (as I posted in your other review comparison btwn BC44 and BC45)…BC44 is more intense towards the end (that’s what I like about this release)..musically overall, BC45 may serve to a better liking to majority people but towards the end, I feel see the light is nice musically but lack the killer punch….compared to you’re shining…and yeah metal kombat for mortal man…:)

If we take out the “not so good tracks” in both BC44 and BC45, combine them, I guess it will rock the world!!!! Maybe better than BC43?! 🙂

The hilights of the release should be track 1 (especially track 1b), track 3, track 4, track 8….track 6 is quite different and unique in its own way….other than that, track 2 is just so so for me….track 5 is off…track 7 is a bit disappointing…nothing else…but just like a movie for BC45, if you have a good start in the warmup track, some good tracks in the middle (t3 & t4) and end it with a bang (track 10)..then people will perceive this is a better release than BC44…BC44 starts ok, good in the middle, towards t7 and t8, getting better but ended with a dud..(t9 and t10)…so perception-wise, people will leave a not so good feeling of it…:)…

Keep it coming, anyway, we’re “tired” of BC45, have mixed it out already..ha ha! 🙂

im not a big fan of the MT in this release either, but im appreciative of the fact that its short and easy to cue (also i get beaten up constantly when i do it). i would rather this than desolation row (which unfortunately we wont be avoiding for a while T__T) i think the last few releases have aimed to keep the heart rate up, rather than push to a peak…but thats just my opinion

doing t3 at workshop was confusing. the cover…youll hear it when you come over here, combined with the fact that some brilliant sound technician decided “MOAR BASS IS BETTERS”…its not as good as some (recent) others but it gets the job done

warmup is too long, reminiscent of 41. love the music though.

i do enjoy this release and it is one of those releases that needs to grow on you first

looking forward to when you come over to brissy/surfers (or at least your twitter feed says you are anyway 😛 :D)

Hi Glen thanks interesting review and good timing. Our local clubs launch this Saturday (UK). Just grateful that its the last week of Track 2 BC44! Some of the moves you mention appear trickier but at least there is another great Track 8! Can’t wait for this release feels like I have been doing 44 forever although have also been going to some mixes thank goodness!

Hi Glen,
Another good review…
like you I really like the warmup, T2 seems a lot easier that T2 from BC44 (instructor played BC44 T2 tonight actually)
T3 is really good and I was initially disappointed they were re-using yet another track, but like you it is one of the better tracks in this release.
T4 is also great – love the music
T5 – I’m with you on this one… I think I made the comment somewhere ‘why are they using songs that were written & released before I was born’? the Chorry is predictable and it doesn’t light my fire
T6 – I liked this one when it was first played, but to me the track doesn’t build to anything spectacular… it seems something is missing from this track – it’s too slow and boring for me!
T7 – I really like this track, although much prefer Motley Crue’s version musically (even if it is slower) – the Chorry is good and those ‘running man’ knees wear me out!
T8 – I wasn’t pleased this song was being re-used for about the 10th time and was tempted to do side flicks and kicks when I first heard it, but it works very well and the Chorry is spot on… like you I’m not sure about the ‘power hook’
T9 – I like the music for this track, but do not like aligator press-ups.. I doubt D&R will put them in any future releases
T10 – I really like this song for some reason and it’s a great cool down.

Glen I would challenge you to do some research on the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for fat-burning. It’s not just about keeping the heart rate elevated and burning calories. There is more updated research out there that shows this may actually be burning muscle. (I can send to you if you want.) I think the highs and lows (as in track 6 of 45) of Combat are what makes it such an awesome, effective workout. I get a better workout/get better results doing Combat – where you have those chances to pull back, “rest” and then go hard again – than in something like Attack that is just 60 min of balls-to-the-wall cardio. (I know, I know, Attack has low options and some breaks from the high intensity, but it’s definitely less than Combat.)

And I agree – tracks 3 and 8 are KEEPERS!!! I know those are going to be tracks I come back to over and over. They really have been DEAD ON with track 8’s lately. They are all just pure magic.
Track 5 – I don’t even want to teach it. Not even once. I HATED Tutti Frutti and Johnny B. Good and this is right back to that same feel. More “Anthem” (BC 42) and “This is the time” (43) and “Ignorance” (44) please. Oldies tunes are awful.

Have done it twice now and not overly keen on some tracks. I did make a comment on facebook about Rach and Dan perhaps showing off and forgetting that ALOT OF US BODYCOMBATTERS ARE NOT ATHLETES.

I look around my class and we consist of mainly 25 – 50 yrs of age women who are mostly housewives/working women with average fitness and some injuries.

What’s with all the blocks and katas? I think there’s way too much and having to focus on getting them right has put me off my moves. I’m only new to this release but find myself standing a few times trying to work out what arm I’m supposed to be lifting up in a block and in what direction.

I’ll probably be happier once I get the moves down. We’ve got the PPCA covers.. yeah… they’re… ok I guess.

I think it’s a bit elite to be honest. Les Mills needs to remember who are its main clients.

Thanks for your thoughts guys… seems we all agree on a few points, and disagree on others!

Leslie I’ve not read the HIIT research (would be interesting to read) but fat loss aside, bear in mind many people (most I’d say) do BC for the cardio workout. Whilst tracks like Russian Roulette are nice, personally I’d prefer to be busting my gut a little more.

When I went back to mixing and threw out track 6 (brought in Burn It To The Ground) and swapped out the muay thai for Excalibur I had so many comments after about how HARD the class was – just because members were used to 3 weeks of 45.

It’s just a comparatively easy release – which possibly isn’t ideal as people do combat not only for fat loss – but also for fitness. And, to get fit you need to get your heartrate up.

Some interesting discussion here, for sure. It’s impossible to please everyone, it seems!

A couple of additional points – the slower tracks, while not great for maintaining elevated heart rate do have some things to offer. I find the sustained crouches and kicks for Russian Roulette etc are pretty wicked for balance/strength training and it offers some respite cardio-wise so I can pretty much go full noise the entire session which is great! Some good peaks/troughs with this release – I get to burn at full throttle for all the working tracks and I haven’t been this wrecked at the end of a class for some time. Maybe I’m doing it wrong… (or right, finally!)

I’m loving some of the jab-cross-upper combos etc, really fun and great to get into. Although some of the blocks/sword-work etc (while good for active recovery) do seem a bit “meh”.

Definitely agree with the uber long warm up comments, and the Proud Mary track needs to be deep sixed. Don’t mind the chorey, but the track itself is decidedly average.

I’m going to go against the grain a bit and say that I *LOVE* the walking alligator push ups. Crosslinking+Core+Shoulders = awesome. Seriously, seriously love them.

Having now taught this at least 8 times in two weeks (my workshop was three weeks ago), here are my thoughts…

Upper body warm-up: LM tell us we have 15secs to make an impression at the start of class. I have the newbies in my hand until I get to the first 15secs of this warm-up. Right foot forward, travel forward – FRONT stance for jacks (for Petes sake!), shuffle back and step Right foot forward – hello, too much! Then we add in the Shoot- hello, too much! Let’s throw some Kamae and double Karate punches in the warm-up. Why? We never see them again!

Lower body warm-up: Regain the newbies and it all starts to flow again, yay.

Track:3 – loving the moves totally. Feels like an “old school” combat (thinking the 20s) where there is lateral movement and it builds nicely. How good is the “slip” after those jabs?! Participants are sweating bigtime after this track.

Track:4 – starts well, then becomes a mess of moves all over the place at the speed of light. I feel like a robot “jump wide, block right, block left…step left, kick right….block left, block right…step right, kick left….” In fact, I believe I probably “channel” Colonel Klink when I teach this track :0!

Track:5 – Well, I like it, and so do my participants. Heck, we’ve just come out of me “rapping” out moves like an automaton. Now I can pull everyone together again.

Track:6 – Yes, slow. But, it flogs the living crap outta my participants. I constantly reiterate getting into their heels with this and staying low to the ground (Karate-style). I can see the sweat dripping off them. They really do like the challenge of the “brown belt” dojo, where the step and block is all important.

Muay Thai – Well, it fits the pattern of fast and furious. I just don’t think it actually “brings it”. The song is boring, the lyrics are constantly repeated. It won’t remain long when mixing arrives.

Track:8 – sorry, Attack instructor here also, and Attack chorey will always DOMINATE this song (and I have a 90% cross-over from my Attack to my Combat classes with all my gyms). Combat just doesn’t bring this one to the table at all. Ho hum, let’s finish with billions of straight punches – someone wake me up when it’s all over!

Conditioning – Well, finally, the Alligator push-ups (heck, let’s call them what they SHOULD be called, and what all my clients have known for years – Spiderman push-ups!) are in a form that most participants can cope with. It’s a good, solid track that you can really sink your teeth into.

Cooldown – No nonsense, simple stretches that delve into the realm of BODYBALANCE. Loving the gentle KATA with no tension.

Well, 57mins – welcome Combatters to the world of the Attackers – I give the option of “peeling” off and taking a drink, but I don’t stop the music. With back-to-back classes, there is no ‘down-time’ for you at my gyms. Sadly, there is also no time to really set anything up (aka “heel set”, soft elbows, what Combat is, and heck, even saying my name). Whilst this info may seem redundant for some folk, just remember, the instructor only has 15secs to convert someone…

Awesome to get some different feedback, actually very different feedback! I agree with you on many points, the jacks facing front are a bit odd (no idea why we’re doing that way_… but, a lot the karate punches. To me they fit the music perfectly, lower your body, set you stance and drive the fist – fits perfectly with the beat.

I guess BC has to accommodate for those beginners to those who goes regularly. But i thought this release (BC45) but also BC44 was average tbh. I prefer the BC 20 and early to late BC30’s where it was more of the fun aspect of it, compared to the newer BC’s, where it’s more MMA driven i guess. They also need to fix up the laws in Aus!!! We are only allowed cover tracks compared to the real ones….. grrrr, so stupid.

Wow…haven’t taught this one yet so I’m expecting some challenges like in track 4, but I’m shocked at how critical some are about it. I did this one at a quarterly training and have been practicing it…Frankly I love the feel of the whole package…yah there are some cardio drops but that’s what interval training is all about. I love the Karate in track 6, and when correctly executed should not let the HR drop too much if the stances are low. This is a MMA workout not Attack…it’s about bringing the HR up then down then up then down! Overall, I really like this release. In going back to some older ones there really isn’t a lot of difference between my average and max HR and cals burned.
I guess with anything you get what you give…if it’s simple chory then there is a great opportunity to really execute the moves correctly…if there are quick transitions it’s an opportunity to hone your instructor skills since after all it’s our job to present with great enthusiasm and love for the class!

Hi Mariane. Well the thing is when you go back to mixing you’ll really feel the difference in the cardio levels. I mixed yesterday and did We Will Survive as a track 4 and Burn It To The Ground as a track 6 and had 5 people come up to me afterwards and comment about how hard the class was. It wasn’t that hard however, it was just people were used to having two cardio recoveries.

And did you just say BODYCOMBAT is an MMA class?? Ummm, no. It’s a cardio class – using martial arts as a base. It’s not an MMA class. No one in my classes comes to combat to learn to fight, they come to get a workout!

Hey Glen…no of course this is not MMA…it’s MMA based! We don’t release this one in Canada for another few weeks! I mix a lot, in fact I just mixed 22, 42, 26, 44, 44, 42, 42, 21, 21 and finally 42. Excellent mix with a lot of peaks! Maybe a little too Ginga heavy but participants will really get a chance to perfect that move…finally!!
Anyhow, it’s interesting to hear everyone’s opinions…I tend to focus on what I like more than what I don’t so that’s probably why I always like the releases!
Combat is my passion…been doing it since release 20 and teaching since release 37….
Anyhow, thanks for your blog…read it every release!

After 44 this was a blessed relief. But I have one thing to say, what the hell is going on with Track 5. Worse than Hairspray back in 35. Just vile. Will be swapped next week, I just can’t do it again. In 9 years of combat, 4 as an instructor, I’m disappointed.
Muay Thai, is ok, and has to be better than the complete flop of chorey in 44.

Vee I agree. Track 5 is ALWAYS the weakest track of the release for me – it just doesn’t seem to have found its place in the programme and is all over the show in musical style and chorey. 46 looks to be a little more uplifting muscially – so perhaps that will be an improvement.

Hi Glen,
Seems like we all agree on T5… one instructor plays it occasionally because as he said – he doesn’t need to rehearse it because the chorry is so easy
Just going through the tracks – our instructors haven’t taught T6 since the release, T2 only done it once or twice since, same with T9.
T1, 3, 8 & 10 still get played regularly T4 & 7 only a handful of times.
I think this release is way better than BC44, but in saying that, instructor did ‘paint it black’ last night, and that’s a great track!